Bonk
Bonk, alternatively titled Bonk!, was a heavyweight robot built by Team Mute, which competed in Series 8 of Robot Wars. It lost its Group Battle after it was immobilised by Carbide and flipped over by Behemoth, the pneumatics system for its axe malfunctioning due to the cold temperatures of the arena. Design Bonk's weapon was a full-pressure axe. It was armoured in 8mm HARDOX wear resistant steel at the front, and 6mm wear resistant steel on the sides, with its bladed axe being not only capable of penetrating a robot's armour, but also righting the robot. It could also lift up to 130kg when attached to something, theoretically making Bonk capable of lifting a competitor when its axe was buried inside. Bonk also used a custom CO2 system to stay rooted to the ground while its axe is firing, as opposed to the way robots such as Terrorhurtz leap off the arena floor. Three forked wedgelets were found at the front of Bonk, to provide the robot with a low frontal clearance, although Bonk otherwise had a relatively high ground clearance. Bonk suffered from unreliability on the live circuit, and this carried over to its televised appearance, where it was immobilised promptly. Qualification Bonk qualified for Series 8 through open application, possibly being chosen based on Mute's previous pedigree. Team Mute also intended to enter Series 8 with Mute, which competed in Series 7 of the original Robot Wars as well as the New Blood Championship in the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. However, they could not complete Mute in time, as its new batteries and speed controllers were making its motors too warm, requiring more testing than the time allowed. Bonk later applied for Series 9, but was not selected to competehttps://www.facebook.com/teammute/posts/1332921093408475. Team Mute did not apply for Series 10, wishing to dedicate more time to the completion of Bonk's upgrades. Robot History Series 8 Bonk appeared in Heat 1, fighting Carbide and The General, as well as Behemoth, a robot that Team Mute defeated in Series 7. When the battle begun, Bonk saw Carbide as an immediate threat, and rammed into the back of it at full speed. It fired its axe to attack Carbide, but the axe became stuck in this position. This was due to the low temperatures of the arena causing Bonk's CO2 system to freeze, leaving Bonk at an immediate disadvantage. Bonk was chased by Behemoth, where Bonk then became trapped on an arena spike, which held it above the ground momentarily. Despite the lack of a weapon or srimech after its axe failure, Bonk continued to contribute, and tried to pin Behemoth down when it flipped itself over. Bonk pushed Carbide aside, and shrugged off an attack from The General. However, when Carbide charged in to attack The General's tyre, Bonk was hit by the same blow, and was immobilised by a big hit. Behemoth pushed Bonk over the flame pit, and turned it over, where it officially started being counted out. CO2 vented from Bonk, as it was hit by Carbide twice more. Cease was called, and Bonk was eliminated, leaving Team Mute's record against Behemoth at one-a-piece. Results |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 0 *Losses: 1 Series Record Bonk Insides.jpg|The internals of Bonk Bonk2 aftermath.jpg|Bonk in the pits Bonk with team.jpg|Bonk with Team Mute Robot Wars Live Events Bonk!.jpg|An older version of Bonk! Bonk 2.jpg|left|Bonk prior to Series 8 Following on from a lot of live event success enjoyed by Mute, Bonk made its Robot Wars debut at the Winter Tour of 2013. However, it lost in the first round. Bonk is more commonly seen at Robots Live! events. References External Links *Team Mute website *Team Mute Facebook Page *[http://www.robotwars.tv/competitors/season-8/week-1/bonk/ Bonk on the Robot Wars website] Category:Robots with Bladed Axes Category:Robots from Staffordshire Category:Robots which are still competing today Category:Competitors in Robot Wars Live Events Category:Robots built while Robot Wars was off-air Category:Robots which debuted in Series 8 Category:Robots which only fought in Series 8 Category:UK Series competitors Category:Robots which lost their only battle